"Perhaps more than once, mother! Perhaps he 's a widower, or even a grass widower--I 've heard of such in the States--or he might be a divorcé, or a Mormon, or a swami gone astray--" "Havers!" she exclaimed, with a show of resentment which caused her son to rejoice, for it was only when thoroughly out of patience with him that she used the Scotch. "You 're too absurd," I said with a warning look. "Mother is for stiff back-boned unrelentingness in such things," he remarked soberly, after she and Mr. Ewart left the room; "and I 've put my foot into it too," he added dolefully. "Why, the deuce, did n't you stop me in time?" "How did I know how far your nonsense would lead you?" "Well, I don't care--much; I can't step round on eggs just because of what I 've heard--" "If only you had n't said anything about 'grass widower'!" "Don't rub it in so," he said pettishly, and by that same token I knew he was repentant because, without intention, he might have spoken in a way to hurt momentarily his friend. "Beats all how dumb critters scent a change," said Cale, just after supper. He was loaded with the robes he had been warming. Pierre was waiting in the pung, having brought the horses around a little early. Little Pete with a soapstone was following Cale. "They begun to be uneasy 'bout two hours ago; I take it they heard Mr. Ewart say he was leavin' on the night express, and begun to get nerved up." "So they did, Cale; they were in the office, all four of them, and heard every word. Look at them!" Cale stopped on his way to the front door and looked up the stairway. Mr. Ewart was coming down, a dog on each side of him, and two behind fairly nosing his heels. They made no demonstration; were not apparently expectant; but, as Cale remarked 'they froze mighty close to him', sneaking down step by step beside and behind him, ears drooping, tails well curled between their legs--four despairing setters! We watched them. Mr. Ewart paid no heed to them. They heeled along in the passageway almost on their bellies when he took his fur coat from the hook. He had another on his arm which he held open for me. "I really am warmly enough dressed," I said. "I don't doubt it--for now; but you 'll be grateful enough to me three hours later for insisting on your wearing it--in with you!" He moved a dog or two from under his feet, gently but forcibly with the tip of his boot; whereupon they literally crawled on the floor. "If you don't mind, Cale,"--he spoke purposely in a low monotone, but with a look of amusement,--"if you don't mind having the dogs in with you under the robes on the front seat, I 'm willing to have them go, but I don't want them to run with the pung." I noticed no movement on the part of the dogs except an intense quivering of the whole body. One who does not understand doghood might have fancied they were shivering at the prospect of the eighteen-mile drive in the cold.